


Punch Up

by BreakfastTea



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Brotherhood: Final Fantasy XV, Gen, Mild Hurt/Comfort, pre-game
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-24
Updated: 2017-08-24
Packaged: 2018-12-19 09:08:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,921
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11894541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BreakfastTea/pseuds/BreakfastTea
Summary: Noctis gets into a fight at school. Regis is *not* impressed.





	Punch Up

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone ^_^ 
> 
> The inspiration for this came from Prompto's Brotherhood episode. There's a shot of the river he runs along and it reminded me of Karakura Town from Bleach, which got me thinking about how the main character of that series, Ichigo, was always getting into fights at school. So I wondered - what would it take for Noctis to get into a fight at school?

Noctis sat in the antechamber outside his father's office. Nerves fluttered in his stomach. Sweat glued his school shirt to his back beneath his blazer. Every so often, he’d realise he’d forgotten to breathe and suck in a sharp, deep breath.

Dad was going to be mad. Really, spectacularly mad.

Noctis’ phone hadn't stopped chiming with messages since he’d been picked up from school by Clarus. Not Ignis. Not Gladio. Clarus. Who had disappeared into Dad’s office and not yet emerged. Noctis dug his phone out of his blazer’s pocket and read the long stream of messages from Prompto.

Noctis typed a concise response to his friend’s mounting panic. _You won't get kicked out of school or the city._

Prompto’s response came through in under a minute. _But you're in trouble because of me. That guy who picked you up from school looked like he was gonna kill you with his eyes! How did you not melt under such a gaze?!?!?_

Clarus certainly had one hell of a grim look when he’d collected Noctis from the principal’s office. But it hadn’t been aimed at Prompto. Noctis had withstood the force of the glare, knowing what was to come would be far worse. _I’m in trouble because of those bullies at school._ Anger tightened his chest. When he’d seen one of the largest, meanest students in their class shoving Prompto into a corner, heard the cruel things he and his lackeys had to say, Noctis had been ready to put them in their place verbally. But then the leader had to raise his fist… _This is their fault, not yours. Blame yourself one more time and I won't help you on King’s Knight for a month._

This time, Prompto’s response was slower. But after a minute’s delay, Noctis’ phone chimed with Prompto’s next message. _Your dad’s really not gonna label me some kind of traitor? Banish me forever?_

Noctis laughed, earning a surprised look from the Kingsglaive guarding his father's chambers. _He doesn't really do banishings. At least not recently..._

_NOCT! YOU ARE THE WORST!!!!_

The chamber doors opened before Noctis could respond. He stood up as Clarus walked out. He looked at Noctis, said nothing, and walked away.

Not a good sign.

“Noctis.” Regis was also at the door, and he was not a happy man. If anyone would be getting banished, it would be Noctis. “Inside. Now.”

Levity fading, Noctis followed his father inside. He caught sight of the Kingsglaive’s sympathetic wince as he crossed the threshold into his father’s chambers. The doors closed behind him with a heavy thud. A burst of fear fizzled in Noctis’ chest. What if Dad told him he’d be pulled out of school and sent to one of the city’s private schools? Worse, what if he shut Noctis into the Citadel with private tutors? He’d only been in high school for three weeks… Three weeks, and he’d gotten in his first ever fight.

It did not look good.

“I can explain,” Noctis said.

Regis didn’t respond until he had sat behind his desk. “You had better be able to.” There was anger in his voice, anger Noctis wasn’t familiar with.

Spine straightening, Noctis swallowed his nerves. “I found a group of bullies taunting my friend. They attacked him. I saw it and I dealt with it.”

“By getting into a playground scuffle.”

“We were in a classroom.”

“Noctis.”

“I had to stop them!” It had been bad enough to hear the bully and his gang sneeringly tell Prompto he wasn’t _worthy_ of Noctis’ friendship. That made Noctis’ blood boil, hotter than ever when he’d seen the look on Prompto’s face, a look that said maybe he wasn’t worthy… “I couldn't stand by and do nothing.” Especially when the leader had punched Prompto, and told his cronies to _kick_ him once Prompto collapsed in a spluttering heap. That ended any hope of peaceful negotiations. Noctis simply reacted. One moment he’d been in the classroom’s doorway, the next he’d moved (okay, warped) across the classroom and laid into the gang. “There was no one else there to step in.”

“So you opted to beat another student up.”

“Four,” Noctis said dispassionately. If his dad was going to punish him, he needed to have his facts straight.

Regis pressed a hand to his head. “Four?” He sounded appalled. “Is that why you have a black eye?”

“Yeah.” That was the least of his injuries. He could barely move the fingers on his right hand due to the swelling, and he’d taken a blow to the ribs that had definitely left a nasty bruise, but his dad didn't need to know irrelevant details.

“The school has suspended you. Can you imagine what it was like to receive that call? To be told my son, a member of the Lucian Royal Family, is no better than the bullies he says attacked his friend?”

Noctis swallowed. “It wasn’t like that.”

“And the principal would agree with you. She even apologised for suspending you, but told me the school has a zero-tolerance approach to such behaviour regardless of who or what that student may be.”

Suspended. He’d been _suspended._ Zero-tolerance or not, it didn’t seem fair. But Noctis chose not to voice that complaint. Not with his dad looking ready to blow.

“The principal explained that your victims have been similarly disciplined after they confessed to their behaviour. She was entirely satisfied that you were protecting a friend.”

“I was!”

“I do not care.” Regis stared at him. Anger simmered in every word he spoke. “Your behaviour today was an embarrassment. I am ashamed, Noctis. You have been raised better than this! You realise what will happen if the press gets hold of this? You’ve created a lot of trouble for a great many people with your actions today.”

“They were attacking my friend!” He could still hear Prompto’s cry of pain echoing across the classroom. “I did what I had to do, and I'd do it again. I won't stand by and allow bullies to hurt others.”

“Except you are the Crown Prince, and people expect better from you! I expect better from you!” Regis bellowed. Noctis resisted the urge to back up a step. Sure, he’d upset his dad in the past, but not like this. “You don’t have the luxury of anonymity. You should've talked them down, not punched them out! You are expected to set a positive example at all times. It is the very least I expect from you, let alone the fact that it is your duty. What will the image of you getting into fistfights at school show our people?”

“That I’ll do whatever it takes to defend them from those that would hurt them.”

“Or that their prince is a bully himself.”

“But that’s not what happened! I had to help Prompto.” Had to prove to him he was worthy. Of course he was. He was the only one who saw a person before a title. The one who saw a human being rather than an opportunity for social advancement.  

“You think the press will care about the truth? All they want is dirt and any excuse to attack you.”

Noctis said nothing. He’d stopped a gang of bullies. Wasn’t that something people normally celebrated? But his father was right. Elements of the press were always waiting for his next big mistake, another opportunity to label him a lazy, spoiled brat. Nothing he did pleased everyone. He’d accepted that a very long time ago. But he didn’t want to drag Prompto into the ensuing circus if the press did find out. That really would send him running.

“You will need to apologise to these four boys.”

Noctis folded his arms over his chest, trying not to wince at the sharp pain in his hand. Damn. Gladio would not be impressed that he’d broken it. “No.”

“No?” Regis’ voice was quiet. Cold. Dangerous.

“They’re bullies, Dad! If I hadn't found Prompto when I did, they would've really hurt him. If I turn around and apologise to them, it condones their actions. That’s not right.”

“What’s not right is you hitting people!”

“They started it! Dad, are you saying I should’ve walked away? Left my friend there to get hurt?”

Noctis watched his father strain to find a scrap of patience. “Do you even know why they attacked your friend? Had he upset them or –”

“It’s not his fault!”

“But something must’ve set them off. What was it?”

Noctis fell silent.

“Talk to me, son,” Regis said. “Violent outbursts are hardly something you’re known for.”

“It doesn’t matter. I did what I did. Prompto’s okay, and I’m suspended from school. It’s over.”

Regis leaned forward in his chair. “No, it’s very much not over. Is there something about this whole mess you aren’t telling me?”

Noctis lowered his eyes and stared at his mismatched hands, a painful reminder of what he’d done. “There’s nothing else to tell you.”

“We both know that’s not true. This young man, Prompto, sounds like he’s a good friend of yours.”

“That’s why I got in the fight. People attacked him. He’s my friend. I defended him.”

“Is he frequently bullied?”

Noctis shrugged.

“Help me understand this mess you’re in. Prove to me you aren’t a spoiled brat who thinks he can throw his weight around whenever he feels like it.”

The words were a well-aimed barbed, but Noctis refused to take the hit. “It was just a fight.”

“Just a fight? Noctis! This behaviour is unacceptable! If you won’t explain the truth to me, I’ll have to see about moving you to an alternate school, perhaps Insomnia College. The students there are more familiar with someone on your station, as are the staff. And we both know how such a move would please the council. They only agreed to allow you to attend your current school so long as there wasn’t any trouble, but this worries me. You’ve only been there for three weeks. Perhaps moving you would be for the best.”

“No!” Noctis cried out. No, he wouldn’t go. He didn’t want to leave his school. He liked it there. And Prompto was his best friend. He didn’t want to leave him behind. Wouldn’t leave him behind. The truth rushed up inside him, the words forming on his tongue, only to go unsaid. How could he explain the truth to his dad?

Regis was unrelenting. “Tell me why this happened or your suspension will turn into a transfer. Push me too hard, and I will have you educated here in the Citadel until you prove you can be trusted in any kind of school.”

The bubble burst. Hot, angry tears rushed to Noctis’ eyes. He blinked hard to hold them back. “Because it’s my fault they attacked him!”

Regis sat back. “Ah.”

Now that he’d started, Noctis couldn’t stop. “They told him he wasn’t worthy, but he is.”

“Not worthy?”

“Of being friends with me!”

“Oh.”

“But he’s my best friend, Dad. He’s the only one who treats me like I’m a human being and not some kind of... of...” But he couldn’t find a way to put into words how the other students made him feel like he was an exhibit in an art gallery they could all stare at and comment on, or maybe a ladder the could climb to a better social standing. “I won’t let anyone talk to him like that.” He curled his hands into fists, the sharp pain in his right hand breath-taking, the fingers barely moving around the swelling. “It was my fault. I had to stop them. I couldn’t let him think that because it’s not true! It’s not –”

Regis held up a hand. “Alright. I understand. Make no mistake, Noct, I am not happy about this, but I understand.”

Noctis deflated. He scrubbed at his eyes with his left hand and nodded mutely.

“The school doesn’t want you back for the rest of the week, but Clarus tells me your teachers have sent over all the work you’ll be missing. You will finish all of it to the utmost of your abilities. And you will apologise, in person, to each of them for forcing extra work upon them.”

“Okay.”

“Your friend, Prompto. He’s alright?”

“Yeah.” Once Prompto had recovered from his gut-punch, he’d wanted to throw himself into the fight, but Noctis had single-handedly taken them all out. Sure, they’d gotten in a few lucky hits, but all those years of training with Gladio had definitely paid off.

His Shield would be proud.

Until he learned about the broken hand.

“I’m glad to hear it,” Regis said. “It would be nice to meet this young man one day.”

Noctis didn’t think Prompto was quite ready to meet _King_ Regis.

“Go on, Noct,” Regis said. He no longer sounded angry. Just weary. “You’re dismissed.”

Knowing he’d taken up enough of his father’s time already, Noctis walked away, but stopped at the door. “Dad?” He turned back to face Regis. “I’m sorry I let you down.”

“I know you are,” Regis said.

Noctis knew he needed to go, that his dad had plenty of work to do, but he remained rooted to the spot. “Will the council really force me to leave the school?”

“Leave them to me,” Regis said, reaching for a thick batch of paperwork. “We’re overdue for an argument about your education as it is.”

“Oh. Um. Sorry.”

Regis chuckled. “I’m joking, son. Go on. Just don’t get in anymore punch-ups, even if it is for the sake of a friend.”

“Right.”

“And Noct?”

“Yeah?”

“Have Ignis take you to the infirmary and get your hand looked at.”

“It’s fine.”

Regis didn’t even look up from his paperwork. “It’s broken. You’ve been cradling it the entire time you’ve been in here.”

Noctis sighed.

“Behave yourself for the rest of the week.”

“I will.”

“You’re also confined to the Citadel.”

“Fine.”

“Remember what I said about your teachers.”

“I won’t forget.”

“Good.”

Noctis left his dad’s office and returned to the antechamber where Ignis now waited.

“Good afternoon, Noctis. I hear we need to go to the infirmary.”

Not bother to speak, because Ignis already knew everything, Noctis walked alongside him to the elevators. Ignis hit the call button and an elevator opened. They stepped in. Ignis hit the button that would take them to the infirmary’s level. Noctis just waited. Somehow, he suspected the lecture from his advisor would be worse than the one from his father…

“A school fight, Noct? Really?” Ignis said.

Noctis rolled his eyes. “Yeah, really.” Here it was. The next lecture.

“You won?”

Startled, Noctis turned to Ignis. “Uh, um, yes.”

Ignis nodded. “Good.”

The elevator arrived. The doors slid open. Gladio was there, arms folded, expression unimpressed. “You won, right?” he demanded.

“Of course I won,” Noctis said, stepping out.

“Could’ve done it without breaking bones though,” Gladio said. “How hard did you hit these guys?”

“Hard enough.”

“You break anything of theirs?”

Noctis shrugged. “Probably.”

“And your friend?” Ignis asked.

“Prompto? He’s fine.” Noctis had made absolutely sure before the teachers dragged him and his victims (the _bullies_ ) off to the principal’s office.

“Honestly, Noct, fighting,” Ignis said. He took the lead on their way to the Citadel’s private infirmary. “Just because you know how, doesn’t mean you should.”

“And if you’re gonna beat up your school bullies, you gotta take care of your hands,” Gladio said. “We’ve done hand to hand combat. I taught you how to punch. You’ve gotta –”

“Yeah, yeah,” Noctis said. “It won’t happen again.”

“It had better not,” Ignis said. They reached the infirmary where doctor and a nurse waited. “Let’s get your hand treated before you give into any more vigilante urges.”

Gladio thumped Noctis’ shoulder. “You stood up for your friend. You should be proud of yourself.”

Noctis blushed. “Thanks.”

Ignis shot Gladio a look. “Don’t encourage him.”

“Ignis, Noct did what he had to do for the sake of a friend. Wish he hadn’t messed up his hand, but I’m glad he stepped in.”

“Punched in,” Ignis said. “Noct, I am glad you protected your friend, but next time, try using words before your fists.”

“Meh, I say do whatever gets the job done,” Gladio said.

The doctor cleared her throat. “Your Highness, shall we?” she asked.

“Um, yeah, please.”

After an x-ray and a cast, Noctis gladly returned to his rooms for the evening. Changing out of his school uniform and into cozier sweats, he snapped a photo of his injured hand and sent it to Prompto.

_You broke your hand defending me? My hero!_

Noctis typed back. _You really sure you’re okay? Nothing broken?_

_I’m fine. So, see you tomorrow?_

_No. Got suspended._

_What? They can suspend a prince?!? No way!_

_Looks like it. See you next week. But if anyone starts anything, you let me know._

_Noct, trust me, after today, no one’s ever gonna mess with me again. You should’ve heard what people were saying! Now they think you’re some kinda superhero, defending the weak from the bullies of the world. People may actually faint in your presence!_

Noctis sighed. Like he needed more people staring at him. _As long as you’re alright._

_Hey, I have a prince looking out for me. I’m great!_

_Good._ _Never let anyone tell you you’re not worthy. You’re my best friend. That’s all that matters._

_…So I’m definitely not gonna be banished?_

Noctis laughed and signed off with one final message. _Not today._

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!


End file.
